Two Top of The Table Clashes For HIF

Our support of Helsingborg this summer continues as we follow their progress in the second tier of the Swedish footballing pyramid.

The Swedish side entered the back to back promotion ‘six-pointers’ in second place in the league and undefeated. The next two games could define their season.

Preamble

Moral was high going into the game at Olympia. Brommapojkarna were the leagues top scorers but had already suffered a defeat. On the other hand, HIF were unbeaten but were prone to conceding goals in the first or last ten minutes of games.

HIF’s problem is that they are drawing too many games, which is fine if you draw from a losing position but they mostly draw from a winning position. With form like that you don’t win the league and you’ll struggle for promotion.

This game could be viewed as HIF’s first real test of the season, at home to the league leaders who were looking like they were about to run away with the division.

Round 12: Helsingborgs IF v Brommapojkarna

Brommapojkarna’s Carl Starfelt celebrates after scoring to make it 0-1.

First against second. The league leaders against the league’s only undefeated team. Should HIF beat BP? It was undoubtedly a real test that awaited Olympia’s visitors but it became a tough encounter.

With three corners inside the first six minutes, Superettan’s highest scoring team set about attacking the home side who were unable to do anything else but defend in the early stages.

In the ninth minute the away team got its fourth corner and from it Carl Starfelt gave them an early lead.

HIF have had a problem conceding goals in the first or last ten minutes of games and that run continued.

However, the goal kicked the home team into action with HIF attacking in waves without success. It seemed that Brommapojkarna were content to sit back and absorb the pressure.

Just before the break, Calle Johansson missed a low cross from Brommapojkarna’s Janosevic which led to the away team doubling their lead when Gyökeres rolled in the ball into the net beyond Matt Pyzdrowski.

HIF completely lost their grip on the game and two minutes later Gyökeres scored again to seemingly put the match beyond the hosts.

This year’s worst defensive performance was confirmed and the fans hoped that the players will get a few home truths drummed into them during the half time team talk. They did start the second half much stronger and after two minutes, Gyimah had a rocket of a shot at goal. Soon after, Jesper Lange nodded over from close range. Not just once, but twice.

Unfortunately, the match dropped quickly in both intensity and goal chances. HIF threw on both Max Svensson and Monday Samuel to try to get a goal but it seemed like it wasn’t going to be their day.

With six minutes left, Brommapojkarna put the final nail in HIF’s coffin when Christoffer Brandeborn scored a fourth from a narrow angle and the game decided.

HIF not only conceded a goal in the first ten minutes but also in the final ten minutes. It could be called a #MiseryCompiler for boys in red and blue.

The game was HIF’s first loss this year so on the one hand, maybe they should not be too disheartened however on the other hand, the scoreline would suggest the should be ashamed. No team should lose by that score-line at home and be anything other than embarrassed.

It’s going to be a big collapse if Brommapojkarna do not win the division or indeed get promoted to Allsvenskan next season.

For the home team, it is important to put the defeat behind them and start again against Dalkurd, who took second spot from HIF as a result of this round of games.

Next up: An away fixture against Dalkurd who took over second position from Helsingborg following the defeat against Brommapojkarna.

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Preamble

Having suffered a heavy defeat at home in their last game, HIF would be determined not to let their sole defeat in Superettan gain some company by losing again.

Dalkurd took over second place in the division after HIF lost to Brommapojkarna. That meant that this game was another six-pointer which, if they have any intentions of automatic promotion, they needed to win otherwise they would start to be left adrift in the play off position.

Dalkurd’s History

Dalkurd FF is the second team in Superettan who were founded by immigrants and are based in Borlänge, central Sweden. They were founded on 26 September 2004 by Kurdish immigrants and they currently play their home games at the 6,500-seater Domnarvsvallen.

The club started as a social project by the management. The purpose with the club was to contribute to the youngsters in Borlänge by providing activities for them. IK Brage helped finance the project.

In the first season the squad had an average age of seventeen years old. Besides contributing to the youngsters, the chairman, Ramazan Kizil, had high expectations from the football players and an ultimate goal – he wanted to take Dalkurd to the professional levels of the Swedish league. Dalkurd won every division they participated in from their very first season in 2005 to 2009. By this level of success, which is uncommon even in Sweden, they got a lot of media attention, both across the country and in other countries.

The club narrowly avoided catastrophe when travelling home from Spain in March 2015. The club had initially intended to fly from Barcelona to Düsseldorf on Germanwings Flight 9525, but changed their booking at the last minute when they decided the layover in Germany would be too long.

German Wings 9525 crashed into the French Alps on March 24, killing everyone on board.

Round 13: Dalkurd FF v Helsingborgs IF

When two top teams meet, the game usually results in a kind of stalemate with neither side wanting to give the advantage to their opponent. However, as we saw in HIF’s last game when first played second which resulted in a 4-0 defeat, they like to do things their own way.

“We’ll be better the longer the season goes on” were the words that Per Ola Ljung used before the season began. Given that HIF went eleven straight matches without loss, hopes were rightly high for games against top competitors Brommapojkarna and Dalkurd.

As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. Brommapojkarna weren’t content to play chess and neither were Dalkurd who went about the game on full attack mode and therefore created a lot of good scoring opportunities.

As soon as the fifth minute Dalkurd’s Amin had a opportunity to score just outside the box after good play by Ekblad, but the shot went over the bar. HIF struggled but managed not to repeat the problem of the previous game by conceding inside the first ten minutes then having to chase the game.

No. In fact HIF managed to hold on until the 25th minute when Lawan struck a fierce shot into the net after some sloppy work by the defence.

Going into the half time break just a goal down wasn’t the end of the world. The end of the world was about to happen, HIF just didn’t realise it when they were having their half time cup of tea and biscuit.

Three minutes into the second half HIF midfielder Alexander Jonsson received a straight red card for a poor tackle. This meant they faced the remaining forty plus minutes with a man down while chasing the game. They have enough problems with eleven men so it would be interesting to see how they’d do with ten!

To be fair they weathered the storm well for the first twenty-five minutes but as the game was entering the final fifteen, the flood gates opened. First Dalkurd’s Yarsuvat scored and was rewarded by being substituted three minutes later. Then we entered HIF territory, the final ten minutes and right on cue Awad scored and, as with Yarsuvat, was substituted two minutes later. Bangura added a fourth but because Dalkurd had already used their full allocation of substitutes he was forced to remain on the pitch.

The game was going through its final twitches of death when up popped Ahmed to make it 5-0 to Dalkurd and end those last twitches. Job done? Truth be told, the job was done before the game got to the last ten minutes.

This means HIF has played the top two teams in the last two games and have an aggregate of 0-9 and must throw some serious doubt on their plans to achieve automatic promotion. The way things are going, HIF should start to look over their shoulder rather than in front of them.